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Wednesday marked the first day back to class for students in St. Landry Parish's public elementary, middle and high schools.

Around 15,000 young people entered their first class of the day at 7:50 a.m. that morning and waited to receive instruction from their teachers.

But some middle and high school children are receiving that instruction from teachers working in two classrooms at the same time.

Even though school is underway, the local school system still has teacher vacancies to fill.

"We are currently entertaining candidates to fill the positions," said Matt Scruggins, supervisor of personnel for the school system.

He said he is not sure how many positions are still open, but said a few weeks ago the system was still down about 25 teachers.

Teacher job fairs and other recruitment methods have been initiated to help close the teacher gap. Retirement and teacher resignations are the reasons for the vacancies, said Scruggins.

The school system had 79 teacher openings at the end of the last school year and has filled more than 50 of those vacancies since that time.

Those 79 teachers retired from the school system during the 2013-2014 school year. Edward Brown, superintendent of St. Landry Parish schools, attended a retirement ceremony in their honor in July.

"We have some tough shoes to fill," Brown said of the retired educators who collectively represented 2,500 years of experience. "You can find anything you want in a textbook but experience."

The teacher openings affect middle and high schools more than elementary schools because of the specialization needed to work on those levels, said Laura Lombas, principal at Glendale Elementary School.

"It's easier to fill the lower levels," said Lombas. "Everyone likes to go to the elementary schools and work with the little kids."

As a result, Lombas has never had to use a substitute teacher to fill any openings at her school. She also has had the help of student teachers from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the recent past.

For high schools with vacancies, current teachers are offering their assistance until a permanent replacement can be found. Another option involves hiring a substitute to take over those classrooms with openings.

"The other teachers have helped out carrying the load," said Reginald Bush, principal at North Central High School, who said his school currently has several openings for special education teachers. "They've had to double up."

By "doubling up," he said that means the other special education teachers have taken over responsibility for those students who don't currently have a teacher and work on an agreed upon schedule.

He said the other special education teachers are only acting in this capacity temporarily until new teachers are hired to fill the vacancies. For those enrolled in the special needs courses, familiarity with the teacher is important, said Bush.

"This won't affect the kids because they still get their needs met," Bush said.

In recent years, issues such as teacher salaries and cuts in teacher positions have affected the St. Landry Parish school system.

A budget crisis in 2012 led to the school system cutting 182 teaching positions.

But now that the school system's $100 million budget is back on track, the system is working hard to rebuild.

To help with recruitment efforts, the school board approved a raise for teachers in 2013, which consisted of a one-time payment received at the end of the school year.

Approximately 1,000 teachers are currently working in St. Landry Parish. For the 2014-2015 school year, starting teachers make $38,000.